SHILLONG: The State unit of the BJP was left red-faced on Saturday after it observed a two-minute silence for the “departed soul of veteran actor-turned-MP Vinod Khanna”.
Khanna is alive and undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai.
However, the party apologised later after realising the mistake.
BJP organised a cleaning drive in Jhalupara on Saturday and before the programme started, party general secretary David Kharsati told the gathering that they would hold two-minute silence to pay respect to the departed soul of Khanna.
The veteran actor and BJP MP from Gurdaspur was admitted in the hospital last week with severe dehydration and a photograph of Khanna in the hospital fuelled rumours that he is suffering from cancer though hospital authorities have not confirmed anything.
The programme in the city was also attended by Avinash Rai Khanna, party national vice president and in charge of Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan, who was on a two-day visit to the State. An embarrassed Kharsati was quick to dispel the controversy and shot off a statement. But the party made another faux pas by referring Vinod Khanna as former MP whereas he is still the incumbent MP from Gurdaspur.
“Among misleading reports on the social media that ex-BJP MP Vinod Khanna is no more, Meghalaya BJP wishes to clarify that as per the latest reports, he is responding well to the treatment. We wish him a speedy recovery and a long and healthy life,” Kharsati said.
The BJP president in the State, Shibun Lyngdoh, refrained from commenting on the matter saying he has no information about what happened on Saturday.
